Skagit County proclaims September 2025 "Recovery Month," hears personal recovery accounts

The Skagit County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 8 proclaimed September 2025 as Recovery Month and heard several residents and program leaders describe how treatment, peer support and housing services have affected their lives.

Christie Burrow Weaver, behavioral health coordinator at Skagit County Public Health, told commissioners the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services estimates that 15% of the county’s Medicaid-eligible adult population — more than 3,000 people — requires substance use disorder treatment. "Entering and maintaining recovery is difficult, and community support is vital," she said while presenting the proclamation.

Two people with lived experience described their recovery pathways. Heather Conley, a drug court graduate who now works at Recovery Cafe Skagit and is pursuing certification as a substance use disorder professional at Skagit Valley College, recounted federal and local charges, time in custody, participation in drug court and inpatient treatment, and then years of recovery that led to employment at the Recovery Cafe. "I graduated from drug court in February 2025," Conley said. "Drug Court and Recovery Cafe changed my life for the best."

Sarah, managing director of Welcome Home Skagit, described the peer-led nonprofit's programs—day shelter, seasonal overnight shelter, safe parking and vocational services—and said the group started in 2017 as a ministry under Mount Vernon Seventh-day Adventist Church. "Recovery is not possible without stability, compassion, and community," she told the commissioners, urging steps toward a permanent 24-hour shelter.

Several other speakers emphasized the role of education, jail reentry services and peer support. Jerry LaFollette, an adjunct instructor in the human services program at Skagit Valley College, said the college offers programs that help people with criminal-justice involvement and substance-use histories move into stable employment. Lisa Bennett of Tierra Nueva described long-standing chaplaincy work in the county jail and said pandemic restrictions have interrupted in-jail programming. Leslie Cox, a Recovery Cafe member, recounted family loss and said safe-parking options could have helped her grandson.

Commissioners thanked the speakers and the county's behavioral-health providers, noted the county funds drug-court services, and said they stand ready to assist programs that support recovery. The commission moved and seconded the proclamation; the motion passed.

The proclamation directs the county to recognize the month and affirms support for recovery services but does not create new funding in the text presented at the meeting.